Amortentia
by Hufflepuffin
Summary: Amortentia, the most powerful love potion known to wizard-kind, and certainly not one you wish to brew with your mortal enemy at your side. With the absence or their regular potions partners, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are forced to work together, however the rivalry between them leads to trouble with some unexpected consequences... Oneshot


**_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, they belong to J K Rowling. I only play in the sandbox she has created._**

_-Amortentia-_

"Good morning class" Slughorn bellowed happily from the front of the potions classroom "I've a special lesson in store for you all today! Gather round, gather round! That's it Susan you come to the front!"

Slughorn stood behind a round pewter cauldron with a large lid on top to hide its contents. Once Slughorn was happy that he had enticed the class's curiosity, he lifted the lid on the cauldron in one swift motion. Immediately the room was flooded with the most delicious scent. "Amortentia!" Slughorn announced. "Now, can anyone tell me what this potion actually _does?_"

As usual Hermione's hand shot straight up, Slughorn indicated that she could answer and Hermione promptly responded "Amortentia is the most powerful love potion known to wizards, it has a unique fragrance to whoever smells it, and it alters itself to whatever scent most attracts the individual"

"Excellent Miss Granger! Ten points to Gryffindor!" he beamed "Of course it doesn't create _real _love, that's impossible, but it does induce a powerful infatuation or obsession for a short while, which if you've seen as much of the world as me, you know can make it an incredibly dangerous potion indeed!"

Eagerly students leaned in, curious as to what scent the Amortentia would take for them. Harry stood beside Ron behind the other students and as he inhaled deeply he noticed could smell the distinct scent of the fresh air of the Quidditch field during practice, the woody aroma of the fireplace at the burrow, and a strange zesty lime smell which he wasn't quite sure he recognised, but certainly smelt appealing.

"Now, we shall only be making a weak draught of this potion so none of you get any funny ideas about running away with any after the lesson. As for the brewing, you will need to work in pairs and you should find the instruction on page 58 of your textbooks."

The class immediately began to jostle about as they found partners. Harry turned to Hermione and Ron who had already paired up, since there were three of them they had devised a system of their own where they took it in turns over who would go with who, and since Harry had been with Ron last week it was Harry's turn to be the odd one out. Usually in this situation Harry would pair up with Dean, but looking around the room he noticed Dean's unusual absence.

"Where's Dean?" Harry asked Seamus,

"He went to the Hospital Wing this morning, he hasn't been feeling so peaky since he was bitten by a kneazle in Care of Magical Creatures yesterday"

Harry looked around the room to search for anyone else without a partner, but it seemed like everyone had already paired up and were beginning to set up their equipment, except it seemed for one other person… _oh shit… _Draco Malfoy was stood alone beside his desk, apparently his regular partner was absent today as well. Malfoy was staring directly at Harry, his eyes widened in horror as he had already made the realisation Harry had just reached. _Curse my luck _Harry thought helplessly, Dean sure did pick his days to be pent up in the hospital wing.

"Looks like you'll be working with Malfoy today" Slughorn said cheerfully as he clapped Harry on the shoulder, completely oblivious the already intense friction growing between the pair across the room. The rest of the class however had seemed to notice, and had fallen silent as they waited to see who would snap first. Harry looked imploringly at his friends, they looked as shocked as he was, but they knew they couldn't help him, at least not without either of them having to pair with Malfoy themselves and they wanted that about as much as Harry did.

"Sorry mate" Ron says apologetically

"Try not to kill each other" Hermione added supportively. _Great, _At least Harry could always rely on his friends he thought bitterly.

"There is no way in hell I'm working with that blockhead!" Draco exploded, Harry could feel his temper rising, bringing a slight flush to his cheeks,

"I assure you Malfoy, the feeling is mutual"

"Now really you two! I would not have thought this of my N.E.W.T students!" Slughorn reproached them "Now, let's not behave like children, I don't see why that should be so difficult"

Of course Slughorn couldn't see how this could be difficult, he was not the one being expected to work _nicely _with someone he'd held a heated dispute with since he was eleven. The room full of students watched on tensely, but with a significant lack of an alternative which didn't include either injury, death or certain expulsion from Hogwarts the two boys were left with no other choice but to take a seat besides one another.

Draco eyed Harry threateningly and then stubbornly divided the desk with an imaginary line from the tip of his wand to signify Harry's side and his side. "Not a finger past this line Potter, or I swear on my life you'll lose it" He hissed. Harry watched Draco, his ashy grey eyes glinting dangerously and a flush of irascibility grazing his pale cheeks. Harry felt there was something oddly satisfying in that he had been the one to put it there.

Draco flicked through the pages of his textbook, which was propped open on the table between two glass jars. Harry couldn't help but notice how long and elegant his fingers were as he gently lifted each page until he reached the one he was looking for. Every single nail was perfectly manicured. "_Ponsy Slytherin_" Harry muttered under his breath. Immediately Draco began gathering ingredients together to prepare. He lay out a handful of lavender sprigs to slice, the instructions read:

_One handful of lavender sprigs to be sliced to exactly one inch._

Draco raised the knife and began to work slicing the lavender sprigs and Harry watched intently. Draco was usually a very diligent worker and excelled in potions, he even achieved an O grade in his O. but now his slices were haphazard and the sprigs were shabby at best. But how the hell could he be expected to concentrate with Harry staring at him like that?

"Would you mind?" He snapped

"Mind what?"

"Staring at me like that"

"Not really" Harry shrugged

"Real funny Potter, I see you're not trying to do anything, I should have expected I'd have to do all the work, probably for the best you'd just screw it up anyway" Draco grumbled

"Screw it up more than you already have you mean?" Harry asked, looking sceptically at the unevenly sliced lavender sprigs doubtful that even _he _could have done a worse job.

"That's only because you're distracting me!" Draco bit back, slamming the knife down on the desk

"Distracting?"

"Are you just going to repeat everything I say Potter?"

"I just didn't know I was a distraction" Harry teased, enjoying watching Draco grow increasingly flustered.

"Why don't you powder the rose roots or something?" Draco snapped, shuffling uneasily, sensing that Potter was gaining more of the upper hand on him than he felt comfortable with.

"I would, but well, all the ingredients are on your side of the desk" he indicated where Draco had drawn the imaginary line "And I am quite fond of my fingers"

"I bet you are" Draco sneered, and it was Harry's turn to blush. Draco smirked, glad to win one back, he shoved the rose roots across to Harry who picked them up and began to work, powdering the dry roots in the mortar. For a while the boys worked silently, until Draco broke the silence only a few minutes later as he slammed the knife down again on the desk in annoyance.

"You're powdering the roots all wrong" He criticised, turning to face Harry angrily, "if it was your own potion you were cocking up I wouldn't give a shit, but unfortunately for me I have to share with you, so you dam sure better get it right, I am _not _going to suffer the consequences of your ineptness"

Harry stopped crushing the roots and stared blankly at Draco "what's wrong with the way I powder the roots?" Harry asked

"Did you even _read _the instructions?"

"Of course I did" harry lied and leant in to see the textbook

_Grind the dry rose roots in a steady counter clockwise motion_

"Oh" Harry stopped to look at the rose roots he had been beating apart in any other sort of motion but a _steady counter clockwise _one.

"Give it here" Draco huffed, reaching to take the mortar from Harry, theirs hands lightly brushing past one another perhaps a little more intimately than intended. Harry blinked, surprised by the brief contact, and Draco turned his face away furiously.

"How about you pluck the aster petals instead? That's more to your ability level" Draco sneered, pushing the small purple flower over to Harry's side of the desk. Harry took it nonchalantly, and began carefully to pluck the petals, a small side of him wanted to deliberately screw this up too, just to watch the reaction from Draco, but he had to remind himself, Malfoy was right, this would be _both _their potion and Harry didn't fancy failing potions just to spite Malfoy.

As the licking flames heated up the cauldrons around the room, the warmth began to radiate into the air, and being in a dungeon classroom with no windows there was no way to allow any breeze in, and the students were starting to feel the heat already. Harry pulled at his tie, loosening it around his neck so that just a patch of his softly tanned skin was revealed beneath his unfastened top button. Draco tried his hardest not to stare but he couldn't help his mind wondering what was beneath the _next _few buttons, but when Harry leaned over the desk to add the aster petals to the cauldron, simultaneously managing to flaunt more skin _and _make his arse look great at the same time, Draco could not resist but look.

"Something wrong Malfoy?" Harry questioned dubiously "you're not going to tell me I '_plucked the petals wrong' _or something stupid are you?" Harry mimicked Draco's drawling voice.

"I wouldn't be surprised" Draco flared defensively, he was startled that Harry had caught him watching but he was thankful that at least he hadn't noticed he was checking out his arse or then there'd be _hell to pay._

"Is it actually impossible for you to pass even _two _minutes without needing to insult me?" Harry sighed. "Although to be honest I'm actually quite flattered that you think about me so much" he added teasingly, enjoying the satisfaction of making Draco squirm.

"Shove off Potter"

Bitterly Draco returned to completing the potion preparation, but he had to admit that despite the lack of positive communication between them, he and Harry actually made quite a good team. Harry was much better at potions than he gave him credit for, and within half an hour they were seated beside their completed potion, a perfect draught of Amortentia, though even more impressively, both boys were still in one piece, both physically _and _mentally, and that was a pretty big achievement on its own. The smell drifting from the cauldron was infatuating, and certainly responsible for the unusual thoughts growing in their minds they assured themselves. Right?

Slughorn approached the two boys and peered into their cauldron "Absolutely marvellous boys!" he commented, inspecting the perfectly brewed potion "Perfect! You two ought to work together more often!"

"Yes well, Potter did very nearly managed to ruin the potion but luckily I was here to correct him"

"Oh yes, _heaven forbid _I add rose roots that were powdered _clockwise_"

"What did you say Potter?" Malfoy threatened, standing up suddenly. Finally Harry had taken enough, and the fumes from the potion were almost driving him out of his senses.

"You heard me Malfoy" Harry spat in return narrowing his eyes.

That was the final straw, forget about wands, when the situation called, all you really needed to do was land a few good solid punches in the face. Draco lunged at Harry, just as Harry swung forward, and both boys collided somewhere in the middle and fell sideways straight into cauldron falling over and taking the cauldron and its entire contents with them.

"Gracious Merlin!" Slughorn yelled, dashing over "Stand back everyone!" he called to the class, flicking his wand and vanishing the mess and setting the cauldron upright again quickly.

But something very odd had happened to the two boys, instead of throwing punches they simply sat staring at each other as though they'd never seen one another before. "Are you boys ok?" Slughorn asked anxiously "Quickly someone help get these two to the hospital wing!"

Ron and Hermione dashed forward to help Harry to his feet "Harry! Are you alright?" Hermione asked, shaking him by the shoulders, pulling him from his daze. _Dam_ Harry thought to himself, had Draco always looked that _good_?

Draco was pulling himself up too, eyes still locked on Harry. Draco was surprisingly handsome, with strikingly defined cheek-bones, and deep ashy grey eyes. He'd grown a lot over his time at Hogwarts and much of his cocky boyish flamboyance had faded with his heightening maturity. His silky blonde hair, which he usually combed back so severely had become slightly dishevelled from the fall and a few blonde wisps hung tantalisingly across his brow. Harry itched to brush them away, wondering what it would feel like to touch that face and run his hands through that hair.

"We need to get you two straight to Madam Pomfrey" Slughorn insisted, driving each boy forward with a firm hand on their backs.

"I feel fine" Harry argued as he was pushed towards the door

"So do I" Draco added. Slughorn however would not hear of it. Hermione and Ron followed them outside of the classroom, casting the two boys' uneasy looks, something about the lack of insults and threats being thrown around was terribly unnerving.

As soon as they were out of the classroom, Draco looked at Harry, and grey eyes met green and something between their gaze told them they were both thinking the same thing. There was a momentary silence and then in an instant Draco reached out and seized Harry's hand, his long elegant fingers interlocking easily with the Gryffindors as though their hands had been made for each other.

"Run" Draco whispered.

The two boys took off at top speed, running hand in hand, leaving a started Slughorn, Hermione and Ron behind them. "Harry!" They heard Ron's started yelp behind them, but it didn't matter because they were together, and free. The sound of the classroom door bursting open behind them echoed down the corridor as students poured out to watch the odd spectacle and very soon three extra sets of footsteps joined their own.

Slughorn, Hermione and Ron chased after them, but Draco and Harry were surprisingly quick and already had a generous head-start, thanks to their element of surprise. The boys rounded corner after corner as they raced through the castle until the only sound to be heard were their own footfalls, heavy breathing and hammering hearts.

They slowed to a stop, fingers still entwined as they fought to catch their breath. Suddenly and quite unexplainably Harry cracked into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, perhaps just the notion of running away hand in hand with his mortal enemy Draco Malfoy was just too much of an overload for his brain.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked bemusedly, but Harry's laughter was almost contagious and Draco couldn't help as the corners of his mouth creased up into a grin as he watched Harry laughing, small tears gathered in the corners of his striking green eyes. Once his laughing fit had passed Harry looked up at Draco, his cheeks were flushed pink from all the running and laughing, Draco noticed that Harry's hair was as even more messy than usual, but it looked so _nice _and the dark colour set of his electrifyingly green eyes _perfectly_, Draco wanted nothing more than to take that gorgeous face in his hands, and taste those absolutely kissable lips.

Still dizzy from the laughter Harry leant back on the wall to steady himself, Draco taking this as his invitation took a step closer and put his spare hand on Harry's waist, sensing Harry shiver at his touch. They were so close now that Harry could feel Draco's breath graze past his cheek, unconsciously he bit he lower lip waiting for Draco to make the first move.

Draco's pupils dilated and he could no longer withhold himself, leaning in slowly he closed the gap between them. Harry greeted Draco's lips to his own, hungrily kissing back, he felt Draco gasp sharply at his powerful response, and almost pull back but Harry leant in quickly to claim his lips back again, tilting his head so their noses could brush past one another without breaking the kiss.

Beyond caution now, Draco deepened the kiss, driving his tongue into Harry's mouth, licking passionately at Harry's tongue, which welcomed him eagerly. Their breath mingled together and Harry groaned quietly raising his spare hand to knot his fingers into Draco's deliciously soft hair and Draco responded with a deep growl in the back of his throat.

Suddenly Draco broke his hand free from Harry's and Harry would almost have almost pined over the loss of contact until Draco's hand slipped under his shirt and pressed a flat palm to Harry's chest, Harry sighed in pleasure and wrapped his now unoccupied hand around Draco's waist and pulled him in closer till their bodies were pressed to one another, Draco's torso fitting snug against Harry's. Teasingly Draco gently ran his hand in coy circles across Harry's bare skin, feeling Harry shiver beneath his every touch.

Realising he had hardly come up for breath since their lips had met Harry pulled his mouth away and breathed in short ragged breathes. Draco however was not so ready to release Harry, and placed a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth before trailing the kisses gently across his jaw and down his neck. Tenderly Harry buried his face into Draco's hair and inhaled deeply, the zesty smell of a lime scented aftershave caressed Harry's nose and he remembered the lime he had smelt in the Amortentia.

Draco nipped playfully at his neck, then ran his tongue across the reddened bite mark, drawing a low groan from Harry who in return teased Draco's earlobe between his teeth, the sensation was enough to drive Draco mad, snapping back his head and locking his lips with Harry's again. The two boys were completely lost in one another's embrace for several minutes, until a startling sound broke them apart.

"Meow"

_Shit._ Mrs Norris crouched at the end of the corridor, her fur bristled along her back and her yellow eyes narrowed, with an expression that could only mean '_you're done for'. _With that, her tail whipped around the corner as she raced away to alert Filch.

"Time to run again Harry" Draco laughed, lacing his fingers around Harry's again, pulling him in for one last peck before taking off down the corridor. They ran quite away, until they were sure they were safe from Filch, but then as they approached a corner they could hear familiar voices.

"Any luck?" came the rather anxious voice of Albus Dumbledore

"None, and I've checked the entire second floor" McGonagall replied sounding equally flustered "We must find them soon or goodness knows what will happen!"

Harry could hear Hermione gasp and Ron mutter something along the lines of, '_It'll be ok Hermione, so long as Harry kills the filthy git first'_

"Slughorn, what should we expect?"

"Well, the Amortentia draught they made, whilst exceptionally good, was only weak, the effects will already have worn off, and no doubt they'll slit each other's throats the minute they realise what's happened!" Slughorn fretted, you could hear his shuffling footsteps as he paced and Harry imagined him dabbing his brow nervously with his tartan handkerchief. Surely he believes he's going to be the first ever teacher to lose his job for accidentally killing two of his students with _love. _

Harry felt Draco squeeze his hand reassuringly, the thing is, they both already knew that what had started between them had been the result of the Amortentia. They would never have ran from a lesson hand in hand for a snogging session in a corridor without either a strong love potion, the Imperius curse or _excessive_ alcohol. But then that was just it, the Amortentia was only the start, the ice-breaker if you like, it was not responsible for what followed. In truth, the effects of the Amorentia had worn off some time while Harry had been laughing, and the rest of what happened, well, that had been something else entirely, and neither boys regretted anything, not then and not now, not even as they boldly stepped around the corner, fingers still entwined.

"Harry!" Hermione exploded. Ron stopped dumbstruck, eyes moving from Harry to Draco to their hands laced together between them and back again.

"Slughorn I thought you told us the potion would have worn off by now?" McGonagall implored

"B-but, it must have! That's impossible! There is no way it can… Unless… but no! Surely not!" Slughorn gripped his tartan handkerchief in his hands tightly in disbelieve as his eyes widened at the young couple stood before him.

McGonagall looked just as confused as Hermione and Ron but Dumbledore appeared to have cottoned on. "Oh my…" He muttered "Why, that is unexpected"

Slowly one by one the penny dropped for each of the others, except of course Ron, who still stared in disbelief at Harry and Draco, his faced twisted in horror, apparently still unable to even comprehend the _holding hands _part of the equation.

Draco looked at Harry with a gentle warmth in his eyes and Harry blushed, meeting Draco's molten grey eyes with his own vivid green eyes. _Things were going to change,_ he thought, _no more fighting for a start_, well, at least maybe not _all_ the time. He grinned and winked at Draco who responded with raised eyebrows. After all Draco sure was _sexy _when he was angry.

Fin

* * *

_Thanks for reading! This is my first ever fanfiction, I hope you liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please review! All comments are greatly appreciated! Hugs all around!  
__-Hufflepuffin xx_


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